Ventilation arrangements

ABSTRACT

A ventilation arrangement housing which has an upper curved guide member and a cruciform arrangement of divider plates to define the housing into quadrants. Air may enter and exit the housing via a louvre arrangement.

The present invention relates to a ventilation arrangement for ventilating a building interior.

The provision of adequate ventilation is an important consideration in building design. The combination of heat gains generated within buildings by occupants and electrical equipment and solar heat gain can cause a significant build up of heat and, therefore overheating.

Air conditioning or other mechanical ventilation systems can be used to provide ventilation to buildings to address these difficulties. However, such systems consume electricity and can, therefore, be relatively expensive to operate.

One prior arrangement is to provide a duct extending from just above roof level into a building, with the upper end of the duct connecting to outwardly facing openings extending around the duct. During use air can enter the windward side of the duct through respective openings, with stale air exiting from the building through respective openings on the leeward side of the duct.

In such a configuration, the duct is divided by radial dividers, which could for instance divide the duct into four quadrants, with the quadrant nearest the windward side receiving the most air to ventilate the building, whilst the majority of air extracted from the building exits through the opposite quadrant on the leeward side of the arrangement.

According to the present invention there is provided a ventilation arrangement for ventilating a building interior, the ventilation arrangement comprising: an air duct which extends in use from roof level into an interior of the building to be ventilated to convey air between the exterior and interior of the building; a housing with ventilation openings which extend around an upper part of the air duct to direct moving air caused by wind movement into or out of the air duct; the ventilation openings having a louvre configuration defining a plurality of discrete openings, one above each other; and a guide member provided in a topmost part of the housing, the guide member providing a profiled surface closing the top of the housing interior, with the profiled surface curving concavely downwardly from the sides or adjacent the sides of the housing to a substantially central apex.

The air duct may be divided longitudinally by divider plates. The divider plates may extend through slots in the profiled surface of the guide member, or alternatively the divider plates may abut against the guide member. The divider plates may divide the air duct into four quadrants.

The guide member may also provide an elongate conduit extending downwardly from the central apex to locate cables or other line means.

One or more formations may be provided on the guide member engageable with the louvre configuration.

The guide member may be offset such that the guide member engages with adjacent divider plates at different respective spacings from the central apex.

The profiled surface of the guide member may be non uniform between adjacent divider plates.

The divider plates may have formations on their surfaces, and grooves may be provided on the divider plates, which grooves may correspond to ridges on the opposite side of the divider plates. The formations may follow the profile of the guide member in the topmost part of the housing.

Formations and/or trim lines may be provided on the guide member to permit the same design of guide member to be used with different sizes of ventilation arrangements.

The guide member may be made of plastics material, and may be made by vacuum forming for example of recycled ABS.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross sectional side view of part of a ventilation arrangement according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic cross sectional plan view along the line X-X of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view at a location corresponding to the line Y-Y in FIG. 1 but of a first modified arrangement;

FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 and illustrating areas of large velocity;

FIG. 5 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but of a second modified arrangement;

FIG. 6 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but of a third modified arrangement;

FIG. 7 is a similar view to FIG. 1 but showing the dividing plates, of a fourth modified arrangement according to the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view along the line A-A of FIG. 7.

FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings show part of a ventilation arrangement for ventilating the interior of a building. The arrangement includes a housing 10 which is square in plan view, and is mountable on a roof of a building. Within the housing 10 is the top of a duct 12 which extends through the roof space to the building interior. The duct 12 is divided into four quadrants by a cruciform arrangement of divider plates 14. The plates 14 divide the duct 12 such that air on the windward quadrant or quadrants will enter the arrangement 10, as shown by the arrows 13. Air on the leeward side will exit from the building interior through the quadrant or quadrants on the leeward side of the building, as shown by the arrows 15. A louvre arrangement 16 is provided on each side of the housing 10 to permit air to enter into or exit therefrom.

The top of the housing 10 is closed by a guide member 18. The guide member 18 is formed by vacuum forming plastics material such as recycled ABS. The guide member 18 extends from the tops of the four louvre arrangements 16 and curves concavely down on each side to a central apex 20. A relatively narrow square cross section conduit 22 extends downwardly from the apex 20 to a lower part of the ventilation arrangement 10.

Cruciform slots are formed in a lower part of the guide member 18 to receive the divider plates 14, and retain same in position. A locating rib 24 is provided around the guide member 18 towards the perimeter thereof to engage with the top of the louvre arrangements 16.

Further locating ribs could be provided to enable the same guide member 18 to be used with a smaller ventilation arrangement. One or more trim lines (not visible) may also be provided on the guide member 18 to permit use thereof with different size ventilation arrangements.

In use, air entering through a one or more of the louvre arrangements 16, and particularly through a top part thereof, will be curved downwardly by the profiled surface of the guide member 18, as shown by the arrows 15. Air exiting the housing 10 through a one of the louvre arrangements 16 will similarly be bent outwardly towards the top of the housing 10, as shown by the arrows 13.

The guide member 18 causes a smooth and more efficient air flow through the housing 10 than in previous designs. Cables and other line means may run through the conduit 22, for instance from a solar panel which may be provided on an upper part of the housing 10.

As indicated the same guide member can be used for a range of different sizes of ventilation arrangements, by using an appropriate one of the locating ribs, and cutting the guide member along a one of the trim lines if required. The guide member also provides structural support for the arrangement, including providing support for the divider plates.

FIG. 3 shows a modified arrangement 30 where the guide member 32 is mounted offset relative to the divider plates 14. This means that the plates 14 and guide member 30 intercept at different distances from their centre in adjacent plates 14. This arrangement has been found to provide pressurisation zones along the base of the upper curved part of the guide member 30. This is illustrated in FIG. 4 by the areas 34, in contrast to the areas 36 from systems without such a guide member.

FIG. 5 shows a second modified arrangement 40 in which the guide member 42 has a varied profile with a number of interconnecting faces 44, which meet at join lines 46. This has been found to provide improved air flow at various wind speeds and directions.

FIG. 6 shows a third arrangement 50 in which the guide members 52 again has a number of different faces 54, but in this instance the faces 54 are curved in contrast to the straight faces 44 in FIG. 5. The faces 54 are offset in a similar manner to that shown in FIG. 3 such that the faces on adjacent divider plates 14 are at different spacings from the centre of the arrangement 50.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a fourth modified arrangement 60 in which a pair of spaced grooves 62 are provided in each dividing plate 64, with the grooves 62 providing ridges 66 on the opposite side of the respective plate 64. The grooves 62 run essentially parallel to the guide member 68 such that they extend vertically in a lower part, and curve outwardly to correspond to the profile of the guide member 68. This has been found to help airflow towards the centre of the system.

Whilst it has been described above that the dividing plates extend through slots in the guide member, it may be that the plates engage against the guide member and are profiled accordingly. Grooves may be provided in the guide member to receive edges of the divider plates.

Various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the guide member may take a different form and/or may be made differently or from a different material.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon. 

1.-19. (canceled)
 20. A ventilation arrangement for ventilating a building interior, the ventilation arrangement comprising: an air duct which extends in use from roof level into an interior of the building to be ventilated to convey air between the exterior and interior of the building; a housing with ventilation openings which extend around an upper part of the air duct to direct moving air caused by wind movement into or out of the air duct; the ventilation openings having a louvre configuration defining a plurality of discrete openings, one above each other; and a guide member provided in a topmost part of the housing, the guide member providing a profiled surface closing the top of the housing interior, with the profiled surface curving concavely downwardly from the sides or adjacent the sides of the housing to a substantially central apex, the guide member also providing an elongate conduit extending downwardly from the central apex to locate cables or other line means.
 21. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which the air duct is divided longitudinally by plates.
 22. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the divider plates extend through slots in the profiled surface of the guide member.
 23. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the divider plates abut against the guide member.
 24. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 21, in which the divider plates divide the air duct into four quadrants.
 25. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which one or more formations are provided on the guide member engageable with the louvre configuration.
 26. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 25, in which the guide member is offset such that the guide member engages with adjacent divider plates at different respective spacings from the central apex.
 27. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 26, in which the profiled surface of the guide member is non uniform between adjacent divider plates.
 28. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 27, in which the divider plates have formations on their surfaces.
 29. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 28, in which grooves are provided on the divider plates.
 30. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 29, in which the grooves correspond to ridges on the opposite side of the divider plates.
 31. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 28, in which the formations follow the profile of the guide member in the topmost part of the housing.
 32. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which formations and/or trim lines are provided on the guide member to permit the same design of guide member to be used with different sizes of ventilation arrangements.
 33. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 20, in which the guide member is made of plastics material.
 34. A ventilation arrangement according to claim 33, in which the guide member is made by vacuum forming of recycled ABS. 